School feeding programme wins at YCAP National Championships

The winner of the secondary school category at the ninth annual Youth Citizens Actions Programme (YCAP) National Championships was Eastern Cape’s Solomon Mahlangu Secondary School which focused on the schools feeding scheme. The school held their award ceremony on the 25th of January 2019.

The learners saw that there was no system in place for the food to be handed out which led to some learners claiming more meals and others not receiving anything. They then created ID cards for each learner, to make the process run smooth and fairly. They have also created a vegetable garden, to help supplement the meals with fresh vegetables.

The YCAP National Championships form part of an initiative by Empowervate Trust – in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education – to provide young learners with project management, social entrepreneurship and life skills through the YCAP Toolkit and workshops, as well as give them a platform to showcase their impactful and sustainable projects at district, provincial and national level. YCAP Founder and CEO, Amanda Blankfield-Koseff says the event is the highlight on the YCAP calendar as it inspires, motivates and acknowledges South Africa’s future leaders. More than 700 schools, comprising of thousands of primary and secondary school learners from the country’s nine provinces, register to participate in the YCAP program.

Solomon Mahlangu Secondary School will use their prize money to purchase gardening equipment, seeds and plants to sustain their vegetable garden.

“We are grateful for our sponsors’ support and we need to get more support to expand our reach and depth. With their investment in the next generations of active citizens, we are able to encourage youth to be proactive members of society who find solutions to problems and have a service-mindset, “concludes Blankfield-Koseff.